The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-10-13
on the Defensive.

The appearance of defence from Senator
German is good sign. 1t shows that the Bal
timore ring has encountered revolt this time
that ii fears. Heretofore Germans method
has been to treat revolts against his machine
with silent contempt. Feeling sure of his
strength he has wisely declined TO enter into
controversy that would be certain to let in
good deal Of daylight upon his methods.
The character Of his support he has cared
very little about; it was enough for him if it
was sufficiently numerous when it went to
the polls to elect his tools. There have been
several rev0lts against his machine before,
but the present is only one that has been big
enough to brighten him.
German says the opposition to him was
first started by a man who aspired to his
place as boss" Very likely this is true.
The first evidence the public gets of corrupt
practices in politics as elsewhere frequently
comes from partakers in it. Quarrels about the
division Of the plumber explain many a reye-
lation Of thieying. Perhaps the man that first
gave away" German is no better than Cor
man and was not actuated by praiseworthy
motives. But that by no means proves that
his charges against German were false.
Long ago, however, the opposition to the
Maryland ring master ceased to be confined
to one man or dozen men. 1t includes now,
as Mr.. German himself admits, large num-
Der Of the most respectable Democrats of
Baltimore, men who have no personal axes
to grind, but are simply seeking to take the
control of their city from ring whose acts
are known on all sides. These Democrats
have rehearsed some of these acts in an ad-
dress recently given to the public from which
the following is an extract
Time would fail to tell all the outrages that
have been committed openly, publicly and system
atically by this association 1.-THE So-called Demo
cratic party. IL has appointed 10 public office
thieves, burglars, express robbers, murderers and
men stained with every crime. 1t has burned the
ballots when in the custody of the clerk Of the
court, and the perpetrators of the act have public
" boosted of it; indeed, everyone connected with
that act has been rewarded from the public treas
ury. Ii has secured places in the government en-
poy for the two most notorious election thieves in
and Eeyt them in tie citys nav "" Of twentyihree
stale and Federal employees in that ward we
nave found nineteen whose names appear on the
criminal records of the city. Worse than all, the
attorney OF the organization, TO whom it has COM
mitted the draughtlng Of our election laws, has
defiled our statute books with laws fitted only to
be the instruments Of fraud For twelve years its
platforms have promised reform in the election
law; promise repeated again and again, and
eyade the fulhllment of the pledge. The late con-
venti0n has actually repeated the stale promise,
and made the same man chairman of its commit
tee to prepare the law.
1t is far from sufficient to reply to these
charges that the man who first started the
revolt against German some years ago was
as bad as he; that he subsequently sought to
make use of some of the very methods which
he had arraigned German for using. Neither
is 1t sufficient answer to say that some of
the evils that the Independents have COM
planned OF In years past have been remedied
by the German machine or to promise to
remedy moreif it is only given new lease of
power. II the allegations contained in this
address be true then the men who have coun-
tenanced the practices described. or who
having the power, have not put an end to
them are manifestly unfit to be left longer in
control Of the government II German
proves that the acts charged were never
committed, or that he was in no way respon-
sible for them, then he will have made
good defence. But neither of these things
has he yet done. His defence is simply an
evasion. 1t is but the throwing of dust to
blind the eyes of the people to the real ques-
tions at issue.